A bill seeking direct bulk allocation of kerosene from the Pipeline Products Marketing Company(PPMC) and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to kerosene peddlers has suffered a setback in the Senate.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Nkechi Nwaogu, sought to ensure that kerosene peddlers were given bulk allocation of kerosene for distribution as against allocating the product to only major marketers.
A bill seeking direct bulk allocation of kerosene from the Pipeline Products Marketing Company(PPMC) and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to kerosene peddlers has suffered a setback in the Senate.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Nkechi Nwaogu, sought to ensure that kerosene peddlers were given bulk allocation of kerosene for distribution as against allocating the product to only major marketers.
Nwaogu, in her lead debate argued that the need for direct allocation of kerosene to peddlers from PPMC/NNPC depots was timely due to hardship peddlers encountered by their inability to lift it directly from the depot.
According to her, the bill if passed into law, will go a long way to ameliorate the difficulty kerosene consumers in the hinterland encounter in accessing the product.
She also argued that this would stabilise and reduce the chain of middlemen in the business of kerosene from depots to final users.
“The direct allocation of kerosene to the peddlers for distribution will put smiles on the faces of kerosene consumers who constitute 80 per cent of Nigerian population and consume 104Million litres of kerosene monthly, “ Nwaogu said.
Sen. George Akume, in supporting the bill, said it was simply a recognition of the needs of the common man.
Akume said the deregulation policy of the government was not working due to poor implementation strategies and added that the law would ensure easy availability of kerosene to consumers.
He said that the non-availability of kerosene often led to the felling of trees, a development that was hazardous to the environment.
Also contributing, Sen. Abdul Ningi, said the bill had to do with the critical needs of the common man.
Sen. James Manager noted that there was a comprehensive bill before the Senate called the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that seeks to repeal all statutes relating to petroleum downstream.
Manager said that the proposed amendment be referred to the committee handling the PIB at the appropriate time.
On his part, Sen. Emmanuel Paulker said he was convinced that what the bill sought to address had already been taken care of by PIB and as such the proposed law was not necessary.
Sen. Ayogu Eze described the term, peddlers, used to refer to Nigerians, as derogatory, adding that the proposed law would not address the problem but encourage corruption.
Sen. Smart Adeyemi said the proposed law would not help the masses, but entrench corruption in the system.
Adeyemi said the direct bulk allocation of product that the bill sought to address would further impoverish the people, adding that if legalised, it would encourage more corruption.
“The whole direct bulk allocation has been hijacked by certain big men in the society and so if we pass this bill, it will only encourage corruption to continue to circulate in the system,’’ he said.
Sen. Ahmed Lawan, also opposed the bill on the ground that if passed, it would be an admission that the country could not deal with corruption.
Lawan also said it would be a clear indication that the Senate was supporting ”inefficiency, ineptitude and corruption.
“We cannot legislate on the distribution of products because it is a purely administrative issue. Those in PPMC that have not been able to ensure the smooth distribution of this kerosene should be sacked for inefficiency. ’’
Senate President David Mark, on his part, noted that the solution was to ensure that those in charge of the distribution were efficient.
He said anything to the contrary; they should be sacked for inefficiency.
Mark said that the intention of the bill was good but noted that on its own, it was not in the interest of the masses.
According to Mark, the bill will not solve poor distribution of kerosene.
Sen. Nwaogu was eventually compelled to withdraw the bill.
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